Dogtags
by ChicagoChaingang
Summary: A veteran falls in love with an abused bartender. Kane/OC Military AU
1. Chapter 1

The battered black truck drove down the road, dust lingering in the air along with the sounds from the muffler. A classic rock station blared over the truck's worn-out speakers, while the driver sang along with loudly and off-key.

_"And I want and I need_

_And I lust animal_

_And I want and I need_

_And I lust animal."_

Glenn drummed his hands on the wheel, maneuvering the truck into the driveway and turning the ignition off. It had been one long year since he'd been home, and that year hadn't been kind to him. His commander had discharged him after a bomb had gone off while he was clearing out a church of civilians. The bomb had given him extreme scarring on his body and the doctors who had saved him proclaimed it a miracle that he didn't die on the operating table.

Millions of thoughts ran through his head, but the most prevalent one was that he couldn't wait to see his wife again. His beautiful Rian. He missed her dearly.  
Glenn's eyes drifted to the passenger seat where a box of hazelnut chocolates and a bouquet of pale-pink roses sat. He smiled and gathered them in his hands, kicking the truck's door shut and walking up to the house, unlocking the door.  
He started to call out her name but thought better of it, wanting to surprise her. Glenn made his way to their bedroom, only to stop dead in his tracks as he got a look at what she was doing.  
The gifts fell from his hands and he stumbled backwards, falling against the wall and catching their attention.  
Rian covered herself quickly, trying to come up with an excuse.  
"Glenn I- You're home early!"  
He stared at her, not trusting his voice, full of hurt and anger at her, at her lover, even at himself for some reason.  
She tried to implore him, removing herself from her lover and reaching a hand out toward her husband. Her eyes were filled with pleas for him to listen, to understand.  
"Darling… Please just listen to me. It's not what you think."  
A large fist shot out and collided with the door, causing her to yelp and duck her head.  
"Get out."  
"Glenn please, don't do this to me."  
"I SAID GET OUT! BOTH OF YOU!"  
Rian quickly scrambled to get dressed, running out of the house with her boyfriend as Glenn stared at their bedroom, feeling nauseous. He waited until he heard the car peel out of the driveway before putting his fist through the drywall, leaving a massive hole. He wanted to rage, to throw and break things that had belonged to them, to _her_… Glenn wanted her to suffer, but he couldn't begin to express his rage and frustration. Roaring loudly, he grabbed his keys from where he'd thrown them in the hall, looking back at the hole he'd created. He'd deal with it later.  
First, he needed a drink.  
He grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him and wrenching open the door of his truck, banging his hand on the wheel.  
"I'm so fucking stupid!"  
With a sharp twist of the key that threatened to snap it in half, Glenn started his truck and backed quickly, almost violently out of the driveway, leaving the house behind him in a haze of acrid black smoke. 


	2. Chapter 2

The rain was beating a steady rhythm on the hood of Glenn's truck as he sped down the road toward the local bar. He needed something to take his mind off of what had just happened.

He wanted nothing more than to go back and snap their lying necks... A year! An entire goddamned year he'd been through complete hell, and he comes home to his wife cheating with some schmuck he didn't know.

Glenn wanted to rage, still. But drinking away his problems was a better solution for now.

He pulled into a parking spot and shoved the door open, slamming it behind him and laying his head on the cold metal surface.

"Jesus christ..."

Glenn took a shaky breath and wiped his face before walking into the noisy, crowded bar.

"I need three tequila sunrises and two dirty martinis!"

Jinx Beckett wiped down the bar and started mixing drinks, pausing to wipe her forehead.

They had never been so busy. Ty had put on the "brilliant" promotion of dollar drinks, so naturally everyone flocked to the bar and bombarded her with orders.

She looked up just as a towering man wearing a grey shirt and jeans walked up to the bar. He seemed angry and upset, and her instincts were instantly on alert.

Jinx tucked her hair behind her ears and smiled at him.

"I'm Jinx. What can i get for you, Darlin?"

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Jinx?"

"Yeah. My parents were into the whole Gothic horror scene. It's better than their first choice, Curse."

He snorted.

"Whiskey please."

She turned and poured his drink, sliding it to him. He tilted his head back and downed it, setting the glass back on the bar. Hs eyes were hazy and unfocused, and she frowned.

"Are you alright?"

He grunted at her and shook his head.

"No. I was gone for a year protecting our country and my wife screwed another guy."

She shook her head, pouring him another shot and handing it over.

"This one's on me. Thank you for your service."

Glenn peered at her, his nose wrinkling as he studied her face.

"Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome," Jinx said with a smile.

"Hey Baby, come shake that ass over here!"

She rolled her eyes and smiled at the man in front of her.

"I'll be right back."

Glenn watched her walk over to the drunk guy, his eyes narrowing slightly. He couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or his need to forget everything that had happened, but he wanted her.

He watched the rude patron lick his lips and rove his eyes over Jinx's body, and it made him angry.

His hand curled into a fist under the bar and he fought the urge to walk over and pick her up, turn her away from the man's disgusting eyes.

He saw her pry the man's hand off of her ass and stood, walking over.

"Is there a problem?"

Jinx looked at him in relief.

"I was just telling him he couldn't have any more alcohol."

Glenn scowled at the man, his gaze full of venom and murder.

"He should listen before he gets hurt."

The man stood and stepped up to him.

"And what are you gonna do? Huh?"

Glenn chuckled and responded by punching the drunk in the side of his head before driving the heel of his hand into the man's nose. The resulting crunch and cascade of blood was enough to send the man running outside.

He looked back at her.

"Are you alright, Jinx?"

"I'm fine. Thank you."

He dipped his head at her and walked back to the bar, setting a twenty-dollar bill down and leaving.


	3. Chapter 3

Jinx continued to see the soldier every Friday night at the bar. He always ordered the same thing, whiskey and coke, and then would sit at the bar and let his eyes roam around, keeping a lookout for problem patrons or gropers.

She got used to having him around, and things went smoother than usual when he was in.

Until the night her boyfriend came through.

Aaron was what most people would call a problem. Six foot two, two-hundred and fifteen pounds, and mean as a snake with a toothache. Drunk, he was hell to deal with. And when he got drunk, he got violent.

Jinx could handle herself most of the time, but the night before, he'd caught her off guard.

*flashback*

She should've known something was off when she walked in and he was sipping at his whiskey, staring her down.

"Where you been?"

"Work," she said quietly.

"Until four in the morning?"

Jinx nodded and moved her hair out of her eyes, yelping when he grabbed her wrist and twisted it behind her back.

"Aaron! Let me go!"

"Don't lie to me you little whore. You get off of work at two!"

"I picked up an extra shift!", she cried.

Aaron shoved her away from him violently, causing her to hit the opposite wall with her shoulder. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground, cowering away from him.

He sneered at her and took another swig of whiskey, his eyes glazed over.

"Clean this shit up, bitch," he growled before throwing the bottle at her and storming out.

*end flashback*

Jinx swallowed the lump in her throat and walked over to him.

"What are you doing here, Aaron?"

"Making sure your ass stays in line."

She caught the eye of her favorite customer, his face worried. She could see the unspoken question in his eyes.

_Are you alright?_

Jinx pushed Aaron away, walking away from him.

"Don't turn your back on me you whore!"

A hand shot out and wrapped itself around his throat, and he was pulled face to face with Glenn. The soldier's eyes burned with protective indignation.

"Get out."

"Who's gonna make me?", Aaron said, the cockiness in his voice just barely masking his fear.

"I will," Glenn snarled, tightening his grip.

Aaron struggled and pulled at the fingers around his throat as he was dragged through the front door and thrown into the parking lot. He stared up at the other man in fear before scurrying away into the night.

Glenn looked back at Jinx, whose eyes were wide and full of surprise.

"Damn... You should be a bouncer."

He laughed.

"That would be something I'm good at."

Jinx snorted and walked back into the bar.

"Thank you for that, by the way."


	4. Chapter 4

Glenn sat on the couch, making himself busy by cleaning his pistol &amp; watching a rerun of Bar Rescue. On the opposite end of the couch his loyal pitbull Be'el laid, staring morosely at the television as he tried to sleep. Glenn set his pistol aside just long enough to give his ole dog a good scratch, which earned him a couple of loving licks on his hand. He chuckled and returned to cleaning his weapon. People always made remarks saying he spent too much time with his guns, especially since being back home, but he couldn't help but get some sort of relaxation out of it. After working with them for so long, it was like hanging out with a buddy.

Before he could get too wrapped up in his cleaning he heard a faint knock on the door, if it wasn't for a brief commercial break he never would have heard it. Not many people knew where he lived so hearing a knock was so incredibly strange, even Be'el was up at attention. Glenn shushed him and grew wary and suspicious, but with his gun in pieces from cleaning he grabbed an old army knife from the side table, immediately going into a defensive stance. Cautiously he made his way over to the door and looked out the small peep-hole and was shocked to see who it was.  
"Jinx?"  
The door was fully open now and Glenn was able to get a good look at her, immediately noticing a fresh bruise on her cheek and a few bags in her hands. Glenn became furious in an instant. He knew who did this and if it wasn't for the fact Jinx was crying in his pathway, he would be halfway to go kill the son of a bitch.  
He took the bags from her hands and pulled her inside, doing everything he could to be gentle and not scare her, this was easier said than done with his anger so high.  
"What the hell happened?"  
She brought her jacket around her stomach and tried to hide within it, "I…. I told him I was leaving… He didn't take the news well…"

Glenn's heart dropped to his stomach, he took the time to run his finger over her bruise and wasn't surprised when she flinched away from his touch. It wasn't much, or even on purpose he had seen it before, "Come on, I think I've got a few things to help with that."

As they headed towards the kitchen he notice Jinx stop at the small mirror he had on one of the walls, "I look like hell…"

Glenn wanted to immediately touch her but the longer he saw her look so upset the more his rage grew.  
"No fault of your own…."

He went to a corner cabinet and started going through his med kit, he would have to reorganize it when he wasn't so angry because right now stuff was going everywhere and he had no mind to fix it. When he turned around he expected her to be closer so he could fix her up but she was still at the mirror, big tears streaking her dirty face. In that moment Glenn's mind was torn completely in two; on one hand he was thinking of any and every way to kill the son of a bitch but the other side was begging him to calm down so he could take care of her. He took a deep breath in and let everything out, the smarter side won out and all he wanted to focus on was taking care of Jinx.

He walked closer and she spoke, "I… I didn't know where else to go… I'm so sorry, I…. I shouldn't be here…"

She was getting ready to break completely when Glenn grabbed her arm, as softly as he could, and brought her into his chest… That's where she lost it. For a little while he just let her cry, it seemed like she needed it… But after a bit he stroked her hair and started making soothing noises.  
"Hey… Jinx…. Look at me."  
He wasn't fully prepared for what he saw, her bright caramel eyes still brimming with tears were filled with so much pain. After all of the combat he had been through he still couldn't get over pain that showed so clearly, but lurking in the very back was something he couldn't quite explain… Maybe it was hope? He wasn't sure but hoped he was able to be around to figure it out.

"I don't want to be a burden to you Glenn… I should… I should just go…. I'm sorry…."

She tried to pull away but she was not match for me, "Hey now… You know I wouldn't let just anyone come in. I'm going to keep you safe; you're not a burden Jinx and if that's what he's got you thinking it just gives me another reason to go kill him."  
She chuckled but knew that he was extremely capable and if she gave him the say so, her ex would never be seen again. Glenn held her face in his hand and softly stroked her cheek, he was going to protect her there was no doubt in his mind, "I know you're not entirely sure about what's going on, but I think the best thing you can do is to get some rest and we can talk about this in the morning."

He was right, she really didn't know what his motives were but she couldn't help but feel safe for the first time in years. Be'el had gotten off of the couch at some point and was now licking her fingers, all she could do was giggle softly, "O-okay…. I think he may have just sealed the deal…."


End file.
